psychocandy

As partner to someone who recently, due to health issues, is disabled, I really understand how tough it must be for people. I can't imagine being like this your entire life.

With two kids, inc a young one, its very tough to fly. Not helped at all by incompetent staff and selfish/rude other passenger.

It seems even when you request special assistance at the airport it rarely turns up or you have to wait for ages.

Other passengers are worse, if they see you in a cart/wheelchair you get glared at.

If you're standing in line with crutches no-one will let you go ahead - all they care about is themselves. I've seen it all - wife has been standing in line for 30 mins and cant stand any more and I've tried to get to the front to get assistance and got into arguments with other passengers who tell me they dont care they were in line first.

Wife has been pushed and shoved out of the way when getting off plane with her crutches people in a mad panic and rush to the baggage pickup.

As with my other post, I'm also afraid to say that us Brits really are the worse for this too.

nmh1204

sorry, but why should your wife go to the front purely because she's on crutches? my dad is disabled and he hates to go in front.
as for being pushed out of the way, she should prosecute every person that does, that's assault.

Tchiowa

If you are sufficiently disabled enough to require a wheel chair then the airline will provide the chair, the airline will clear a path for you, the airline will get people out of your way and you'll board first. Conversely, you're going to disembark last

If you have other issues that require special assistance but don't need a wheel chair, simply approach airline staff at the gate. They will arrange early boarding. Again, they'll clear the way for you.

If you don't meet one of these 2 conditions you get to wait in line with everyone else.

psychocandy

Ever try getting a wheelchair sorted? Sometimes its less hassle to walk yourself by the time you wait 45 mins.

Getting to the gate can be the problem in some airports. I would agree that staff will help but sometimes its hard to get help.

nmh1204

arrange it before hand, you need to call them a few days before. they should have it ready.

Ocn Vw 1K

Please follow the discussion as it moves to the Disability Travel forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

ysolde

My travel profile says that I travel with my own wheelchair and require a wheelchair pusher. I make sure to add this information to every reservation I make. I call a few days before I travel to make sure they understand exactly what this means. One airline (AA) even calls me to confirm this.

When I arrive at the airport, no arrangements have ever been made in advance for a wheelchair pusher for me. No one is ever at the ready. Ever. In all my years of travel, this is never the case. I sit and wait for someone to push my wheelchair. Sometimes for a few minutes. Sometimes (as at JFK's T8), in the holding pen for special needs pax, where everyone is kept until X number of minutes before your departure time. Want to go to the AC? Too bad. You're in a wheelchair, and we're busy.

The only exception is if I pay several hundred dollars extra for Five Star Service when traveling alone, or if my husband does the wheelchair pushing for me.

Truly, traveling alone in a wheelchair is a constant reminder that you are a second-class citizen, no matter what class of service you are eventually flying in.

Loren Pechtel

Yeah. We were connecting through LAX, my wife was in a chair due to an injury. We had to put up a squawk because they wanted to leave her at the gate without the chair during a 5 hour connect. What in the world were they thinking with a policy like that?!

DeafFlyer

Just write a complaint letter to the airline. They will investigate and then tell you that they did what they were required to do. They got you t o your destination. That's all that matters to them.

psychocandy

Yep. Twice in the past we have booked a wheelchair and its never ready. Its always - we're busy.

Usually end up sitting there waiting for 45 mins then its mad dash to the gate.

Last trip booked a wheelchair. Wife walked down steps of plane. Got baby pram and car sear dumped there then to be told they couldnt do wheelchair because there were steps.

Great so now I've got baby, pram, car seat, carry on luggage and wife has got crutches.

Why would I want baby pram now if there steps!!!!!

GenyaGr

Sometimes common sense seems to be lacking.

I've had varied experiences, sometimes waiting a long time for a wheelchair. In the early days of my difficulty walking, when I was too proud to ask for accommodations, I was knocked over in a Southwest jetway by passengers rushing for seats. On the next flight, I was at first refused permission to preboard, but the second gate attendant reversed that decision while I was searching for complaint information.
Now, I travel with a light electric mobility scooter that I gate check when preboarding. With crutches, I can seat myself, but I probably could not do stairs without a sturdy handrail. Because I have my scooter, I no longer need a wheelchair in the airport but can't seem to stop the airlines from providing one. It was useful once, however, when my scooter did not appear at the gate, was feared missing, but was later found on the baggage carousel.

synergistic

I'm very sad to hear the stories about solo travelers experiencing trouble with wheelchair services - while our experiences were largely positive, I can't imagine my dad being able to negotiate a trip without a companion. A small electric scooter would likely be the only way to attempt it - and only because he can go short distances with his trekking poles without problems. I hadn't really considered the difficulties of solo accessible travel before =/

For folks who do have a companion, though, the system can work reasonably well, if sometimes a little slowly. We bring our own portable collapsible chair to gate check, and are usually offered a 'ride' to the gate area to wait for it to be brought around. If we did not bring our own, I am told we would be brought directly to bag claim / passenger pickup. If people glared, I didn't notice - but they would have just gotten a bright smile and a bird from me, so maybe it's best I wasn't looking.

Despite my feeling that the wheelchair service is at least adequate for travel with a companion, I don't think I'd book anything other than nonstop flights, if only for fear of being stuck in a connecting city without accessible accommodations. We usually have to book early, be flexible with travel dates, or pay a little more for this, but we think it's worthwhile.